


Blood and Water

by Turq_I



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Canon, Canon-Compliant, Fjord/Molly if you squint, Gen, Vampire AU, bc Molly dies at the end so beware, vampire!Molly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-31
Updated: 2020-01-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:35:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22488022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Turq_I/pseuds/Turq_I
Summary: What if Molly was a vampire?
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	Blood and Water

**Author's Note:**

> Molly: 1. Had blood powers, 2. Died from an oversized stake to the chest, and 3. Was mysterious as all hell. So, the imagination ran wild for a bit. I actually wrote this a while back and just touched it up to post.
> 
> Enjoy!

He remembered the light of the moon after the suffocating darkness. He remembered the dirt under his nails and the dust trapped in his hair. He remembered the bone-deep fear and confusion that would plague his nightmares for many months afterwards. But most of all, he remembered the _hunger_. His throat was raw, his stomach ached something fierce, and he felt entirely like a corpse that had dragged itself from the earth.  
  
Within his first hour on the surface, he had hunted down a dozen small animals and drained them dry.  
  
~~  
  
The circus was a place for the freaks of society and Molly felt he fit in just fine. They were a merry band of misfits, and his warmest memories - his only memories - included the rounds of liquor after a particularly successful show, the awe-filled eyes during a tarot reading, and the ornery banter between members while on the roads. Every one of them had their own secrets, and never once did they shun Molly for his known ones. He never had to worry about being thirsty - the healthiest ones would offer full vials or a bite or a fresh kill often enough to satisfy him.  
  
"Take what you need, Molly!" They would say with a grin.  
  
~~  
  
Yasha was an unshakable mountain of support when Molly felt unsteady. When he dreamed that he was choking on mud, when he got himself into scraps at bars from snide townsfolk, when the hunger pangs grew too strong to ignore any longer - Yasha and her calming presence righted him once more. She didn't speak much - not to him or anyone else - and that seemed to suit them both just fine. All that Molly was, Yasha accepted with silent amusement and affection.  
  
After a particularly bad evening when Molly accidentally drained a bed partner under the thrall of the full moon, Yasha held him close and whispered, "You are not a monster, Mollymauk. You did not mean this. You are still good, at least in my eyes."  
  
He found more vials in his bag after that.  
  
~~  
  
The Mighty Nein was a different band of freaks. All of them held secrets behind sharp, sad eyes. They fit awkwardly together, somehow. After two years, Molly had lost most of the shame of his vampiric nature, but he hadn't lost his caution. The local tales painted vampires as soulless, bloodthirsty monsters, and there was no telling how the others might react. Yasha always hovered close by, silently offering protection should he need it.  
  
He tried not to worry too much every time she left - for her sake and his. Before she went, when she could feel the call of the storm across her skin, she would fill more vials for Molly so he didn't have to worry about being thirsty. And for a while, it worked.  
  
~~  
  
Of course someone was bound to find out eventually. Molly always wondered who it would be. Everyone was fairly perceptive, but there was only one person that would frequently sleep less than an arms-length from him.  
  
Molly had to drink the vials when no one was watching - usually at night. It was easier when he was alone on a watch, or when Fjord slept in a different bed, but sometimes he couldn't get a drink for a few days and ended up absolutely parched by the time he could finally sneak a couple vials.  
  
It was one of those nights when Molly crept out of bed. In his haste, he didn't check Fjord's breathing. He fell to his knees beside his pack and yanked open the straps. The dark red vials clinked softly as he took two, ripped off the stoppers, and knocked them back.   
  
He was halfway through the third vial when he heard a grunt behind him.  
  
Their group hadn't been together very long yet, so of course Fjord regarded him with confusion and subtle suspicion. Molly could see the thoughts racing through his head as he took in the red line trailing from his lip - an embarrassing result of having been startled.  
  
Molly liked to wear his secrets close to his chest, but that night, on the floor, with a red smudge on his chin and empty vials in his hands, he laid everything bare. Fjord keep his expression neutral the whole time out of respect, and Molly felt immense relief when he merely yawned and smiled sleepily.  
  
"I'll keep your secret, Molly, don't worry about it."  
  
~~  
  
Fjord kept his secret.  
  
Every night, Molly would knock back a vial before they went to bed and Fjord never batted an eye. Occasionally, he would ask a few questions and Molly enjoyed teasing him before he'd indulge Fjord with an answer. It was easier now, and he had a new ally.  
  
He let Yasha know before she had to leave again. She hugged him and left a few less vials.  
  
~~  
  
As many questions as Fjord asked, there was one that Molly soon recognized that never made it off the tip of his tongue. He would watch Molly drink when he didn't think Molly would notice. Once, his mouth opened as if to say something, and closed just as quick.  
  
When Fjord first asked, he was sitting shirtless on his side of the bed sporting multiple bruises and a new nasty scar on his stomach. Molly stoppered the vial he had just finished, and stared at Fjord who stared right back. He brushed off the offering the first time, since they were fresh from a fight that day and Fjord shouldn't lose _more_ blood.  
  
The second time was a week later, after a few too many drinks. Molly almost took him up on the offer before he realized how inebriated they both were, and firmly declined while putting Fjord to bed.  
  
The third time was the very next morning, when Molly felt like utter shit and realized he hadn't drank a vial the night before. When he reached in his pack, he found only one vial left from when Yasha left a week ago. When Fjord sat up and groggily offered with his wrist extended, Molly didn't even get a chance to decline before Fjord insisted.  
  
Fjord wanted to be bit. "Morbid curiosity," he claimed with a grin. And who was Molly to decline that? He had little choice, anyways.  
  
It was warm, and fresh, and the best drink Molly had in months.  
  
~~  
  
He told the rest shortly after their first meeting with the Gentleman. He felt dissected - too exposed, too much revealed. Everything he never wanted to face had finally caught up to him, and yet-  
  
He wasn't rejected.  
  
None of them recoiled in disgust, none of them went for his throat. Yasha and Fjord watched him carefully, and moved closer to him, but their protection wasn't needed. In fact, Beau and Jester immediately offered their blood and scolded Molly for not telling them sooner. Caleb and Nott quietly affirmed they would offer their blood if need be. Fjord and Yasha each put a hand on his shoulder. His vials were all full that night.  
  
Between all of them, Molly hadn't felt so full since he left the circus.   
  
~~  
  
The humongous glaive left him with a cold sense of dread from the moment he saw it. His nerves sang with alarm, and his desperate anger and fear were the only things that let him approach Lorenzo. He bared his fangs in spite, but an unexpected darkness seized his body. He felt a searing pain as the glaive sunk into his heart with a cold finality.


End file.
